Goodbye Monte and Hello Duff!

Last weekend, we went to ARK adoption event at Dogsign store in Jingumae to see Monte off. It was indeed a bittersweet moment for us, but we were all ready. A few days before, Sidra said that he felt sad that Monte was leaving, but also happy for him and his new family. At the same time Sidra was excited to see our next foster dog. ‘It is such a confusing feeling. It is the first time I’ve ever felt this way,’ he said.

Monte might be confused right now in his new environment but he will settle down in a couple of weeks just like when he was with us. Here’s a few pictures (out of hundreds) of Monte during the one month that he stayed with us. I will never forget his funny personality, his soft mouth and velvety ears. But I’m truly happy for him. Congratulations, Monte!

We also met out next foster dog at the adoption event. His name is Duff, a 3-4 years old miniature dachshund. He and two other dachshunds were bought by a 90 years old couple who let them breed uncontrollably. At the end, there were 18 dachshunds living in miserable condition. The couple could no longer take care of the dachshunds and they were brought to ARK. This is an article about the dachshunds. It is in Japanese, but there are some pictures of the condition they were living.

Duff is such a sweet dog! We took him home by train and he didn’t make a peep during the 2 hours trip. He doesn’t bite, doesn’t chew on furniture or anything, not even socks that Monte so loved! Now we can put our shoes on the floor again 😛 He is housetrained and prefers to do his business outside. He is not very strong, so walking is restricted to not more than 15 minutes twice a day.

He does whine when I leave him, even when I’m upstairs and Sidra is downstairs with him. Unlike Monte who gets along really well with Sidra from the start, Duff is slow to warm up to other people but me. However I think it is still normal since he’s only been with us for a couple of days. He has a rough past so maybe he needs more time to feel comfortable in a new environment.

Oh Novita, this is such a brave adventure. It can be a confusing feeling! Animal neglect and overbreeding really hits my heart a lot… I volunteered with animal rescue and considered fostering for awhile but I bond too strongly with animals. (I ended up keeping several rescue kitties.) I hope Duff finds a happy home and enjoys his love and smothers from Sidra ;).

what a sweet little boy. So glad that you are going to give him the care and love he needs! If duff seems more attached to you than others it could be because dachshunds have a tendency to be one person dogs. I have two sweet minis who have been raised equally by my boyfriend and I and who still exclusively follow me around the house. 🙂

I think that what you are doing for these dogs is just fantastic! I’m so happy that Monte has found a good home, and that Duff has found you to nurture and take care of him until he, too, can find a permanent loving home.

Sidra looks such a good playmate to your foster dogs! What a nice, good boy he seems, too.

Wendy

I think these posts about your experiences fostering are so important. Hopefully, others thinking about fostering will happen upon your story.

Oh, Duff has the sweetest face. You can just tell he’s a sweet dog. I really admire your fostering dogs, I can’t imagine how hard it is to get attached and then let the dogs go, even though they’re going to a good home.

I think the hardest part of fostering would be sending those sweet babies off to their forever homes. But, as a person who adopted from a foster scenario, I can tell you how amazing your contribution is! I hope that Duff does well in your home. He is certainly lucky to escape the conditions he was being forced to endure previously.

Congrats on your new furry family member! It’s so great that you are fostering critters, and making a difference in their lives.

Jenn

What a sweetheart!! as a mum of a recuse dog I congratulate you. FOstering dogs is a brilliant thing to do as it makes finding that forever home so much easier. Bravo guys and keep up the good work. Looking forward to the adventures of Duff